Susan Adrian

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

I honestly couldn't do this--any of this, any one day of this--without the support of all the wonderful other authors I've met along this journey.

Example A: The Tunnel Tour. If you go to the event page and look at the pictures on the right? I'm touring with (or planning on touring with) 25 other authors. TWENTY-FIVE very busy people who agreed to come and spend their valuable time and energy at a bookstore or library helping to support me and TUNNEL VISION. (And yes, fortunately they have fun and get publicity and sales out of it too, I HOPE!) They're amazing, all of them. This is not even counting all the authors who tweet/FB events, and come and hang out and talk and give me advice and are generally lovely.

Example B: The big example: my acknowledgments in TUNNEL VISION!

I know it's huge. I KNOW IT. Look at that amazing list of people. And I still forgot some, didn't have room for all, and have met new writer friends since!

I'll let that list stand, though, because it says what I need to say.

Thank you, writers. You cheer each other, root for each other, console each other, and make it so we can all do this crazy thing together. THANK YOU.

Tuesday, February 03, 2015

I spent much of the past week traveling for the TunnelTour, and most of that in bookstores.

I am so, so grateful for bookstores. I love ebooks too, in a different way, but there is just SOMETHING special about walking into a real, live space dedicated to books, running your hand over the lovelies on the shelf, cracking one open to browse, and just looking at all the joy and adventure there waiting for you. (It also might have something to do with the fact that my husband and I both spent years managing bookstores, and that's where we met--they're important.)

Bookstore people are wonderful, too. Over the past couple weeks I have been tremendously grateful to the bookstores and bookstore people who have carried my book, welcomed me with open arms, ordered it or brought it out for me to sign when I stopped by, or are working with me on an event. I have to do a shout-out to all of you. And to the bookstores who aren't on this list (yet), thank you to you too!! I wish I could visit all of you.

THANK YOU to:

Butte, Montana:Books & Books: They are handling signed, personalized copies for me. If you want a signed copy and you're not near any of the other areas, contact them (booksbutte@booksbutte.com, 1-800-273-9520)Hastings: The Butte Hastings generously brought books to my launch party to sell, and are hosting a hometown signing for me this Saturday (February 7) from 2-5 pm. They've been wonderful!

Seattle, Washington:University Bookstore: Can't say enough about how welcoming and supportive they were for my signing with Lish McBride and Kendare Blake. I signed 20 copies for stock, and they will ship them for free!The Elliott Bay Book Company: They were sold out when I stopped by, but they have it back in now!Seattle Mystery Bookshop: I was so excited to discover this place!

San Diego, California:Mysterious Galaxy: This great bookstore--I used to go browse there when I lived in San Diego--is hosting the TunnelTour San Diego stop on February 17th, with Kiersten White, Stephanie Diaz, Shannon Messenger, and Maggie Hall. Can't wait!

Tuesday, January 27, 2015

It's
been a week since TUNNEL VISION released, and wow! What a ride! I had a
successful, amazingly fun launch party with my hometown crowd, family
and friends. I got to have the first stop of the Tunnel Tour in Houston,
with the fabulous Becky Wallace, Joy Preble, and Mary Lindsey. And I
saw such a wonderful outpouring of support from friends and readers
online. THANK YOU!!

Today I want to start a (hopefully) (at least
for a while) weekly series on people or places or things I'm thankful
for, and today's shout-out is to LIBRARIES. One of the highlights this
week has been peeking at WorldCat and seeing all the far-flung, big and
small libraries my book has made it to, seeing it on the "holds" shelf,
dancing when I see it checked out. THANK YOU to all the libraries who
ordered TUNNEL VISION, who work to get books into the hands of teens and
all kinds of readers every day. Here's a call-out to a few of the
libraries I saw on that list, randomly chosen! But thank you ALL.

Monday, December 22, 2014

It's kind of a thing for authors to release a playlist for YA books, something they listened to while they wrote, or that inspired them.

I went a step further with TUNNEL VISION: I call it a soundtrack.

Each chapter of TUNNEL VISION lists a song as the chapter heading. The songs and genres vary wildly, from The Clash to Dave Matthews to Blues Traveler to Ray Charles. Each song is closely tied to the chapter in some way, relating to the action, the dialogue, or most often the emotion.

I started the soundtrack early on, when I realized how visual this book is, and wanted "background music" to go with a scene. I started putting it together as I wrote, listening to it over and over to put me in the mood, adding new titles as I wrote new chapters. I only chose music I thought Jake would choose himself. Some of it is very specific to him (and not me), like the soundtrack "Revenge" from Call of Duty: Black Ops.

To celebrate that TUNNEL VISION releases on January 20th, just under a month, I made a playlist of the TUNNEL VISION soundtrack on Spotify. You can get a taste of Jake's story now, and see how each song relates to the chapter when it comes out!

Friday, December 19, 2014

The
rule is simple: Scroll through your manuscript and stop on random place.
Whatever you land on becomes one of eight terrible titles. So here
we go! This made me LAUGH. Eight terrible titles that could have been the title
of TUNNEL VISION, pulled at random—I picked the first short sentence I saw when
I stopped scrolling:

1.
And Still Not a Video Game

2.
How Much Did She See?

3.
I Sure as Hell Want To

4.
And Whatever Comes After That

5.
That Surprises Him

6.
It's Simple

7.
I Think It's Time for an Afternoon Nap

8.
Crazy, I Guess

I gotta say,
a couple of those are fabulous. Can't you see some of them as titles?

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

Reviews for TUNNEL VISION have been pouring in the past couple of weeks! So far, so good! In fact, really good. I'm so excited! Check them out:

"An exciting plot paired with a sympathetic protagonist makes for a roller-coaster adventure that asks some big moral questions: Is it ethical to tunnel into another person’s mind, even to do good? Which is more important, the individual or the country? The action moves at a quick pace that fans of adventure fiction will appreciate while still leaving room for deeper contemplation. Danger, intrigue, a dash of romance, and a good, hard look at ethical dilemmas—a pretty complete package. —Kirkus Reviews (full review)

"Debut author Adrian offers a refreshing spin on the suspenseful spy novel with brisk scenes, adrenaline-fueled cliffhangers, and a sympathetic protagonist. There is much to savor in this thriller.” —Publisher’s Weekly

"Jake Lukin has a secret talent: if he holds an object that belongs to a person, he can instantaneously "tunnel" to that person—envisioning them physically, pinpointing their location, seeing what they see, feeling what they feel. After Jake reveals his skill at a high school party, he quickly finds himself on the run from government agents who would harness his talents for their own purposes. This YA novel is a heart-racing thriller set at full throttle from the opening page, and it never decelerates. Fans of Cory Doctorow and Anthony Horowitz will consume this title with a passion and will excitedly anticipate a sequel."—Leah Krippner, Harlem High School, Machesney Park, IL, School Library Journal

"Adrian has crafted a tension-packed spy novel about a likable teen with a special power and his equally likable family and friends. Twists of plot, kids outsmarting the bad guys, and a relatively low-tech but fascinating superpower ratchet up the action to a bizarre conclusion that begs a sequel. With a grandfather that would make Richard Peck or Joan Bauer proud, and government goons, male and female, who morph between good and evil with a single look or comment, this is a must-read." —Booklist

ALSO, I just posted the first batch of events for...THE TUNNEL TOUR! I'm joining with fantastic YA authors all over! So far: Butte, Seattle, Berkeley, Los Angeles, and San Diego, with more to come! Keep up on my events page here: http://www.susanadrian.net/events/